


I Didn't Know I Was Lost

by DreamsAreMagical



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: M/M, Memory Loss, Still not sorry, also, greed goes by a bunch of different names, greed sort of adopted a child/henchman, greed's not dead, he won't go by his name for at least a chapter or two, its confusing, not really - Freeform, sorry - Freeform, yay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-26
Packaged: 2019-08-23 08:32:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16615535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamsAreMagical/pseuds/DreamsAreMagical
Summary: In this story Greed is alive after The Promised Day, but doesn't remember anything accept a few names. None of which are his. He's made it to Xing and is trying to figure out who he is, where he came from, and the names mean.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I have a feeling this kind of sucks, but whatever. Only way to get better is practice. So.... *throws fic at you and runs away*

“Thief! Stop! Someone catch him!”  
This was the last thing he could hear as he climbed up the side of a building, taking to the rooftops in an attempt to get away. A jump here. A duck there. A few more buildings and he was home free.  
Yes! He dropped down an almost unseen hole in the edge of a roof. He let out a sigh of relief. His pursuers had gone into the alleyway next to the building. No one would find him in his nest. At least no one had yet.  
He threw down the bag of stolen food on his makeshift bed in the corner. Why did that guy worry so much about an apple and a loaf of bread? It’s not like he was going to go bankrupt. Right? No. That’s stupid. New trade routes had opened up in Xing from Amestris, making the country richer than ever. The new kid emperor had helped too. For such a young guy he sure was doing a great job.  
He dropped down on a crate made chair and pulled out the notebook he had stolen. He wrote the date and thought for a moment. He still had to pick a name for the day. He didn’t know his actual name so he chose one from the few he remembered. He had woken up in the middle of the desert a few weeks ago with no memory. On his way to some sort of civilization he wracked his brain to remember anything. The only thing he had come up with was a few names. Martel, Bido, Roa, Dolcetto, Ulchi, and Ling. He had been choosing one of those everyday as a fill-in. His hope was that one day something would click and he would figure out what his name actually was.  
When he had finally made it to Xing using a different name everyday had proven to be confusing. He was having to remember which name he had used to introduce himself to each person. Writing it down had helped. Now he only used the wrong name around someone every other time. He tapped a pencil against his mouth as he considered. He had used Bido yesterday, so that was out. He wanted to use Ling again, but he used that one all the time. It still didn’t feel right, but it was probably his favorite. Just because it fit in with everyone else in Xing. At least that what he kept telling himself. He ended up deciding on Roa and wrote it in his notebook next to the date.  
A sudden knock on the door almost startled him into dropping his book. He sighed and shoved it back into his bag. “Who is it?”  
A small voice called back from outside. “It’s me! I got some potatoes, boss!”  
Roa-at least for the day-threw the door open. “Lee, quit calling me boss, and quit announcing that you have stuff that you stole.”  
Lee stuck his tongue out and pushed his way inside. “I didn’t steal them. A nice shopkeeper donated them to a poor, orphaned, ten year old.”  
Roa snorted and slammed the door shut. “You’re twelve, you little gremlin.”  
“Well yeah, but if they think I'm younger they'll give me more stuff. Come on boss, be happy. She gave me like six.” He dumped his haul onto the table.  
Roa picked one up and examined it. “They don't look too bruised or rotten. And I literally just told you to stop calling me boss.”  
“Well, maybe if you didn’t choose a new name everyday I wouldn’t. What is it today anyway? Let me guess, Ling again?”  
Roa threw a potato at him causing the boy to giggle. “No. Its Roa for now. And I don’t use it that often.”  
“Yeah you do. It’s the only one you ever use twice in a row.”  
“Do not!”  
“Do too!”  
“Do not!”  
“Do too!”  
“Shut up or you’re not getting an apple.”  
Lee’s face brightened. “You got apples? Yes! You are the best!” He ran over and hugged Roa.  
Roa gave him a hesitant pat on the head. “Yeah, yeah. They’re on my bed. Go get one.”  
Lee ran and dug through Roa’s pack. “Aww! You only got one!”  
“So what? Just eat it and be happy I got any.”  
Lee pouted. “What about you? Don’t you want one?”  
“Nope. You know I don’t need to eat as much as you do, so shut it.”  
Lee took a big bite of the apple with a frown. “I have a feeling you’re just pretending that you don’t need to eat as much. Which is stupid. You’re gonna starve, and I’m gonna laugh and say I told you so.”  
“Shut up you little brat. I’m not lying. And don’t talk with your mouth full.” Roa began looking for a pot or bowl to boil the potatoes in later.  
Lee made a face behind his back and took another bite before answering. “You’re not my dad.” He swallowed and continued. “So what are we going to do for the rest of the day?”  
Roa thought for a moment. It would be good if they could get stocked up on some more food. Or better yet some money. The only problem with that was no one would hire Lee since he was a kid, and no one would hire him because he didn’t exactly get along with most people. It wasn’t his fault that no one ever saw that he was right and they were wrong. They could always pickpocket. Lee needed some work on that before Roa would let him try it out on any body who could get mad. That meant it was up to him. “Well, you’re going to stay here, and I’m going to go get us some supplies and stuff.”  
Lee pouted. “That’s boring. And we just got back. At least teach me some more of your cool fighting moves before you leave.”  
“You barely got the last thing I taught you. You have to practice that first.”  
“Then spar with me! Please!”  
“Fine. You need to be lighter on your feet. And faster. If you can hit my hand I’ll say you win. Ok?”  
Lee grinned. “Yeah! Wait, which one? The one with the tattoo or the other one?”  
“I don’t care. Either one. It’s not like you’ll be able to do it.”  
Lee glared at him before charging at him “Yes I can!”  
Roa danced out of the way. “Predictable.”  
Lee scrambled to try and catch him. Roa laughed and continued to dodge around their little hut. Their mock fight ended when Roa grabbed Lee and flipped him onto the bed. “I win. Better luck next time. Now, I’ve got to go before all the shops clear out. We’ll continue when I get back, deal?”  
Lee looked up at him from the bed. “Fine, but next time I’m gonna win.”  
Roa grabbed his pack and headed for the door. “Whatever you say, you little gremlin. See you in a couple hours.” With that he headed outside into the crowds of Xing.


	2. Chapter 2

Roa walked through the streets, eyes peeled for a target. Anyone who wasn’t paying attention to their coins was going to get robbed today. Well, not anyone. Just a few. Just enough to get him and Lee through a couple of days.  
So far no one was looking promising. There were only a few people that had visible coin purses, and most were holding them close. He decided to move to a more populated, and probably more wealthy area. Hopefully that didn’t mean more guards. And if it did, well, he wasn’t seeing a lot of other options.  
The neighborhood closer to the palace was by far nicer than the slums he and Lee lived. There were few abandoned or broken down house. None of the people looked like they had spent even a day going hungry. There were no rips in clothing. No stains. No wear and tear. In other words Roa did not fit in. At all. And now he was starting to get some weird looks.  
He walked around from street, once again on the lookout for a target. There were a lot more people not paying attention here, that was for sure. Downside of living all your life without worrying about pickpockets and thieves. So far the best target was a young man with a ponytail eating at a small outdoor restaurant. He had his bag hung on the back of his chair. Idiot. I’d be almost impossible for the man to tell his stuff got stolen until he went to look for it.  
Roa made his way closer, careful to look like he wasn't doing anything suspicious. This would be a piece of cake. He grabbed the bag as he passed and a hand grabbed his wrist.  
“I don’t think that belongs to you.”  
Roa attempted to pull his hand away, but the grip on his wrist was as strong as iron. Since that wasn’t working he decided to try another tactic. Bullshiting.  
“This is your bag? I’m terribly sorry. I thought it was mine. I left my bag here a while ago,and it looks just like yours. Funny coincidence, don’t you think?”  
As soon as the words had left his mouth there was a knife against his throat and a new voice next to his ear. “I don’t think its funny at all. Especially since you are still holding on to my lord’s bag.”  
Roa dropped the bag like it had started on fire and leaned back from the knife. “Whoops, my bad.”  
The knife followed so it was once again pressed against his neck. The voice, which Roa had decided belonged to a woman, was still right in his ear. “What should we do with him my lord?”  
The young man, apparently some sort of lord, let go of Roa’s wrist, and continue his meal. “Just let him go Lan Fan. And give him some money. He looks like he could use it.”  
The lord’s bodyguard, now known Lan Fan, turned her head in shock. “What? But he just tried to steal from you!”  
The young lord gave a single nod before replying. “Yep. Which is why he probably needs money. So let him go.”  
Lan Fan sighed and stepped back. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”  
As soon as he was released Roa lept back and turned to face the woman. The first thing he noticed was the her knife wasn’t a knife. It was sticking out of her arm. Must be that automail stuff. People did all kinds of weird stuff with it. He then turned to get a good look at this lord. He wasn’t anything impressive. Young, but that was the only notable thing. Roa glanced between the two once more before replying. “Look, I don’t want your charity, so I’m just going to go, and we can forget this whole thing ever happened.” It was then he realized that this lord wasn’t paying attention. “Hey, it’s rude to ignore people. I don’t give a crap if you’re the emperor, listen when I’m talking to you.”  
The lord didn’t take his gaze off the back of Roa’s hand. He still didn’t give any sign that he had heard. “That tattoo, where did you get that?”  
Roa glanced on the stylized snake, or dragon, or whatever the heck it was, tattooed on his hand. “Why the hell do you care?” He looked back up and saw that the lord’s bodyguard had lost any sense of professionalism and was staring at him slack jawed. “What?Lan Fan ignored him, earning a small offended noise.”My lord, it can’t be him. He’s dead. We both saw it.”  
Roa saw his chance to get away and took it. While the two were talking he turned tail and ran. He ignored the cries telling him to wait and ducked into an alley. He ran down every back alley and side street he knew. Once he was sure no one was following him he started heading for home. It was going to be fun explaining to Lee why he hadn’t gotten any money.  
When he finally reach to the broken down house he lived in he had managed to swipe a coin purse from an unsuspecting shopper at the market. He opened the door and threw the purse onto his bed. “Hey Lee, brought a present.”  
Lee scrambled over to check it out, pouring the contents into his hand. “Awesome! We don’t have to steal for awhile!”  
Roa grimaced. It was incredibly depressing to hear a kid say that. Not that he’d let Lee realize he cared that much. “Yeah, yeah, you’re welcome.” He flopped down onto his bed next to Lee. “Hey guess what? I met a lord today.”  
Lee raised an eyebrow. “Really? Was he trying to get you arrested?”  
Roa playfully hit him on the arm. “No actually. His bodyguard was, but he wanted to let me go. Even though I tried to steal from him. It was really weird. And then both of them looked like they had seen a ghost when they saw my tattoo.”  
Lee started bouncing up and down. “Maybe they know you! Maybe you were a lord before you lost your memory! That would be the best! We’d never have to steal again!”  
Roa rolled his eyes. “Yeah right. I’m like a professional thief. I doubt I could have learned that in some fancy lord’s house. Besides, they didn’t recognize me before they saw my tattoo. It’s probably some gang sign or something.”  
Lee pouted. “Yeah, you’re probably right. It would have been cool though.” He laid down on top of Roa. “You could just pretend to be a long lost prince or something.”  
Roa pushed him. “Get off you little gremlin. And no way. Then I’d have to live in a palace. Bleh. It’d be all stuffy and proper.”  
Lee laughed and refused to move. “Yeah, but you’d never have to worry about paying for stuff. And you’d have a big house, and lots of food, and a soft bed.” He sighed, imaging all the things he could have.  
Roa snorted. “Speaking of soft beds, I’m going to sleep. Night.” He turned over and wrapped himself in a blanket.  
Lee tried to pull the blanket off. “Hey! You said you’d teach me how to fight!”  
Roa held on. “I’ll do it tomorrow. We don’t have to go out and steal stuff, remember?”  
Lee huffed and laid down next to him. “Fine, but you better actually do it.”  
Roa gave an affirmative hum and closed his eyes.  
The next thing he knew he was in a bar. There were people at the counter, motioning him over. He smiled and moved to walk over. He knew these people. They were his friends.  
Before he could take a full step everything went wrong. All of his friends were gone. He went through the door at the back of the room to look for them. As he went further, he found more and more of his friends, lying dead on the ground. He started running, praying that at least one of them got away. That someone was safe.  
He ran and ran, making it to the sewers. He saw more of his friends. Two were laying in the water. Dolcetto, and Roa, the real Roa. And on the shore, Martel. All of them, dead.  
He looked around. Someone was missing. Bido. Maybe he was ok. He had to be ok.  
The scene changed and he was kneeling on the floor of some sort of tunnel, holding Bido’s dead body. He had done this. Why would he do this to his friend?  
He could hear thousands of voices screaming in his head, but one was yelling so much louder than the others. It was the voice of the lord he had met earlier. No, not a lord. Ling. Always just Ling. Ling kept yelling at him. Only one thing stood out. “If you turned your back on something you wanted you don’t deserve to call yourself Greed!”  
He shot up with a loud gasp, almost as if he had been holding his breath. Or screaming. He felt a drop of water hit his hand. It took him a second to realize it was it was from him crying. A small noise drew his attention to the opposite corner of the room where Lee was crouched.  
“Boss? Are you ok? What happened?”  
He opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a croak. He swallowed hard and tried again. “How many times do I have to tell you not to call me boss? My name’s Greed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to re-watch the devil's nest episodes and the episode Bido was killed in and I wanted to cry.


End file.
